28. Find Your Best Golf Ball with Beth Yahara

For more info on the Dallas Shootout, visit: DallasShootout.com.  Tori sits down with Beth Yahara, a member of the Titleist Golf Ball Fitting Team.  Listen in as Beth shares how any player, whether beginner or expert, can find the right ball for them. She smashes several common golf ball myths, and unpacks the three primary factors to keep in mind when choosing a ball: flight, feel, and spin.  Key Moments ?      (03:01) Swing speed doesn’t matter. Regardless of your gender, handicap, and all other factors, swing speed is not the most important factor in your game. ?      (07:35) The cover of the golf ball is its most important component. It’s almost always unintentional, but it will throw off a lot of players. The cover is the brakes of the golf ball—what helps it stop. The softer the cover material, the better it interacts with the grooves of the ball. ?      (10:26) There are two types of stopping power. The “cover” takes care of shots going around 50 yards out. Fuller golf swings—around 150 yards coming into the green—come from the “core”, the engine of the golf ball. The Pro V1, Pro V1x, and AVX golf balls will give you your best short game control. The flagship differences between the three balls are flight, feel, and spin. ?      (15:52) You can identify the year of a Titleist golf ball by reading its sidestamp. The flight, feel, and spin of a Pro V1 from 2013 is different from one from 2018. This is why it’s so important to be fit for a golf ball to find one that suits your game. ?      (27:19) Pro V1, Pro V1x, and AVX balls come in optic yellow. There is a “sheen” to these balls that allow sunlight to reflect off of them while airborne, making them easier to see. ?      (36:28) Even beginners can benefit from playing a golf ball they were fitted for. This is for the same reason getting fit for clubs early on can be extremely beneficial. Simply, it allows you to get better, quicker. ?      (43:59) The higher the elevation, the farther the ball goes. Other factors that influence the ball include humidity and weather. However, it’s important to play with the same golf ball no matter the weather, and to store them in a controlled environment regardless of season. ?      (46:40) The feel of the golf ball is influenced by the compression of the core. Cores are all solid rubber. A low-compression golf ball, such as 60 compression, will feel softer than 110 compression. One is not better than the other. As with weather and temperature, performance all depends on the player. This is why players must practice with ...